About High School Completion

Finishing high school is an important
step for young people to create a positive future for themselves,
their families and their communities. Alberta's future prosperity
rests on our ability to generate a well-educated workforce that is
responsive to change. Among the key priorities of our province's
education system is to ensure all of our students are successful -
both in school and in life.

Alberta's High School Completion Strategic Framework

A high school diploma provides a strong
foundation of knowledge and skills that are essential to career
success, further study and in life.

But not every student completes high school and the decision to
leave school early can result from a number of factors. Keeping
kids engaged and motivated to finish high school requires a number
of approaches and a great deal of collaboration. The Alberta
High School Completion Framework addresses the challenges
students face in finishing high school and helps ensure all
students are given the opportunity to succeed. To read more about
the five core strategies use the navigation bar on the left.

Alberta's High School Completion Rates

Alberta's 2013 high school completion rates show the percentage
of students in Alberta finishing within three years of
entering high school is growing.

Alberta's three-year high school completion rate increased to
74.9 per cent in 2013 from 71.5 per cent in 2009. The increase
follows efforts by schools boards, teachers, parents, communities
and government to better engage students in the importance of
learning.

There was a modest decrease in Alberta's dropout rate, which
fell to 3.3 per cent in 2013 from 3.5 per cent in 2012.

Alberta High School Student Outcomes

Alberta Education calculates student results related to high
school programs, Grades 10-12, each spring for the previous school
year. These results include 3-, 4-, and 5-year high school
completion rates, based on tracking Grade 10 students. For
provincial information on Alberta High School student outcomes,
click on the document links below.

These measures are part of the set of Accountability Pillar measures used
to assess school jurisdiction performance. The complete
provincial Accountability Pillar report is available here. Jurisdiction rates are
included in their three-year plans posted on the school board's
website by the end of June and in their results reports which are
posted on each jurisdiction website at the end of November each
year.